Industry News

Former LSU AgCenter weed scientist Eric Webster speaks about rice weed research at the 2021 LSU AgCenter Rice Field Day. This year’s event will be held June 29.

OLIVIA MCCLURE/LSU AGCENTER

Innovations featured at 113th LSU AgCenter Rice Field Day

LSU AgCenter rice researchers are once again inviting producers and industry professionals to the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station for its annual field day to be held Wednesday, June 29.

“We are proud to present the AgCenter’s latest developments from the state’s nucleus for rice research,” said Kurt Guidry, H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station resident coordinator. “We are continuing a more-than-a-century-old tradition of presenting to rice industry stakeholders the LSU AgCenter’s latest research in the state’s top grain crop.”

As in past years, the program will begin with field tours from 7:15 to 9 a.m., with a poster session and trade show running concurrently.

Topics will include:  Rice agronomy research.  Hybrid rice, specialty rice breeding.  New rice variety developments.  Rice entomology, pathology research.  Weed management.

The indoor program will feature updates from rice industry professionals and government officials and will begin at 10:30 a.m. Speakers will include Richard Fontenot, chairman of the Louisiana Rice Research Board; Jim Harper, president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation; Dr. Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry; and Betsy Ward, chief executive officer for the USA Rice Federation.

Other speakers will include Luke Laborde, LSU interim vice president for agriculture and Mike Salassi, LSU AgCenter associate vice president for Plants, Soil, Water and Animal Sciences.

For more information, contact Kurt Guidry at kmguidry@agcenter.lsu.edu.

University of Arkansas 2022 Rice Management Guide

The 2022 Rice Management Guide publication is now available. It contains the most requested production recommendations for rice in a single, easy-to-reference PDF. Go to https://bit.ly/36VGFfYm to access the publication.

This information will also be posted to the Extension rice page (http://uaex.uada. edu/rice) and the Arkansas Row Crops blog (http://arkansascrops.uada.edu).

Arkansas Rice now accepting applications for scholarships

Current high school juniors graduating in 2023 are eligible to apply for and win up to $18,000 in scholarship funding towards higher education. Arkansas Rice’s “Rice Reps” is a five-month program to help educate students about the rice industry while equipping them to act as advocates in their communities and on social media. Once accepted into the program, Reps actively participate in activities from May through September designed to teach students about rice farming and the importance of the Arkansas rice industry at home and abroad. They are also asked to attend four different exclusive, on-site experiences during the program to better understand the reach of rice in Arkansas. The goal of the Rice Reps program is to encourage interest in rice promotion and to publicize the importance of the Arkansas rice industry to the state’s economy. The program seeks to educate both male and female students across the state of Arkansas with the tools and knowledge to advocate for the Arkansas rice industry.

Students must be in the graduating class of 2023 to apply.

Plant pathologist named to LSU AgCenter professorship

Jong Hyun Ham, an LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, has been named to the F. Avalon Daggett Professorship in Rice Research. The professorship recognizes outstanding research accomplishments in rice production. It supports recipients’ programs by providing salary supplements as well as funding for instruction, research equipment, materials and faculty improvement. “Dr. Jong Ham has made many important and groundbreaking research findings in pathogen virulence mechanisms, host plant resistance and biological control of rice diseases in Louisiana,” said Lawrence Datnoff, head of the AgCenter Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology.” Ham, who has been with the AgCenter since 2007, and his team discovered and characterized the qsmR gene — a key regulatory factor of Burkholderia glumae, the bacterial pathogen that causes panicle blight in rice. The group also found additional genes that affect virulence factors and used state-of-the-art DNA technology to further their understanding of these regulatory systems. Ham’s work has offered new insights into disease management strategies and helped identify disease resistance traits. These findings have led to more than 10 new disease-resistant rice lines that also have good yield potential. “I truly feel honored to receive this professorship,” Ham said. “This recognition means a lot to me at this stage of my professional career at the LSU AgCenter.

“This not only fuels my passion to bring my research program to a more competitive level nationally and internationally, but also furthers my commitment to the AgCenter’s mission to contribute to Louisiana agriculture and higher education.”